Too Much Dancehall for 2014

Hey all you festival goers! As always I am looking forward to this years SNWMF! I'm sure it's going to be a great time with some uplifting vibes. In my opinion there's a bit too much dancehall flavor this year. Anyone else agree? I am hoping they aren't done with adding more classic roots music. Seems like the whole reason to have an actual dancehall at the festival is so there is a nice balance between the classic roots and the dancehall vibe. As a patron you could pick and choose. What choices do we have this year if we have dancehall on the main stage and in the dancehall. There are usually some good bands at the second stage but you don't get the roots vibes from the originators, the big names that keep the classic reggae style alive and pulsing. I want my crucial reggae SNWMF!!!

You guys are trippin. You sure you're reading the right lineup? I think this year has a killer rootsy, old school, lineup. Barrington Levy, Tarrus Riley, Mykal Rose, Bltty Mclean, Horace Andy, Sly & Robbie, U Roy, Morgan Heritage, John Holt, Clinton Fearon, The Tamlins, Josey Wales (true danchall...not stresshall), etc. Not sure what list you're looking at but I'm certainly tipping my hat to the promoters for this year's lineup...and this is coming from someone who hates modern day stresshall.

Well... IMHO Shaggy is pretty much dancehall. Barrington Levy had a really strong dancehall vibe when he closed the show a few years back. He also seemed pretty bored with the crowd too since we were all feelin mellow and Irie and not wanting to be jumping up and down his whole set. I guess I just feel a bit disappointed that the bigger names come with a more dancehall flavor. Mychael Rose is alright but at this point its Sly and Robbie for me as far as representing the roots. Last year was special and this year we get Shaggy?!?!? Where's Willie Williams? Burning Spear? Sheeesh, at least bring back Toots or Don Carlos again... Just my thoughts. I got my ticket, I know I'll still have a good time but the lineup might not hold up to the last few years, IMHO.

QuoteIrieMono
Well... IMHO Shaggy is pretty much dancehall. Barrington Levy had a really strong dancehall vibe when he closed the show a few years back. He also seemed pretty bored with the crowd too since we were all feelin mellow and Irie and not wanting to be jumping up and down his whole set. I guess I just feel a bit disappointed that the bigger names come with a more dancehall flavor. Mychael Rose is alright but at this point its Sly and Robbie for me as far as representing the roots. Last year was special and this year we get Shaggy?!?!? Where's Willie Williams? Burning Spear? Sheeesh, at least bring back Toots or Don Carlos again... Just my thoughts. I got my ticket, I know I'll still have a good time but the lineup might not hold up to the last few years, IMHO.

Barrington Levy will not be "bored" at this show and he is oldschool/singjay dancehall...same with Josy Wales (polar opposites Sizzla/Capleton types). Not trying to start beef, but do you even know who these guys are? The Tamlins, John Holt, Horace Andy, Clinton Fearon (a la The Gladiators), U Roy....all old school roots classical niceness.

QuoteMychael Rose is alright but at this point its Sly and Robbie for me as far as representing the roots.

Well, now you are going to have a dilemma because Sly & Robbie will be backing Mykal Rose. You say 'last year was special and this year we get shaggy'? To me, Damian and that entire set was far more 'dancehall' flavor than Shaggy (who I consider to be more 'pop' than dancehall).

From my perspective, Chuck Fenda is probably the only real 'dancehall' artist (though Barrington, Jahdan and Kabaka sometimes come off sounding a bit like dancehall at times).....

The lineup is great this year. No complaints from me at all - how could there be? And just in case you might think I might be a dancehall fan, read some of my past posts in the subject - all the regular posters on this phorum know my stance on dancehall (stresshall).

If you guys add any more roots acts that i'm going to want to see i don't know what i will do. If Josy Wales is dancehall like Briggy was, BRING IT ON! I'm counting 15 acts i want to videotape, and that's not physically possible for me. Personally i'm hoping any further additions are world acts so i can take a breather. My list goes kinda like this: Shaggy, Tarrus Riley, Bitty McLean, Mykal Rose, Horace Andy, Sly and Robbie, U roy, Morgan Heritage, John Holt, Clinton Fearon, Hollie Cook, Kabaka Pyramid, Josey Wales, The Tamlins, Anuhea, Chuck Fenda, Zvuloon Dub System......heck thats seventeen, too many. Something will be a conflict, and exhaustion will eliminate one or two.

Go do your homework stoned-monkey! Burning spear doesnt play anymore. Toots hasnt played since the bottle incident. Don carlos is alwAys a last minute sub cuz he lives in california. So he will be therer every few years. This is the greatest lineup ever. U have 2 stages to choose from.

A lot of dancehall is crap. But there is a lot of good conscious dancehall that isn't that different from roots in its message or vibe. I'm a big roots fan who is also into conscious dancehall and I have no problem with this year's lineup, especially after today's additions.

THE LAST THING I ASSOCIATE WITH SNWMF is the current style & fashion in contemporary Jamaican dance hall music. I found this an odd comment to make...and let's remember the old truth regarding music from this island: at one time, it was ALL 'dance hall music'.

Perfectly well balanced line-up I would say. Plenty of great Roots,-classic and modern. Also many Reggae artists and fans don't necessarily make a distinction,-at the end of the day its all Reggae. Is Uroy a roots or a dancehall artist? The answer is that he is the original for all dancehall Mcs/Djs and he brings a heavy roots vibe. How bout' Taurus Riley,-he does some dancehall style stuff and he has his "gimme likkle one drop" roots style to. And in the literal dancehall do you think there is any chance that any of the great sound systems both local and international will drop some heavy roots tunes at various points. Yes of course they will and it will be great. If you want straight up pure roots on the stage you'll get it repeatedly on a high level throughout the wknd: John Holt, Morgan Heritage, Horace Andy, etc. Also there is such a thing as a roots sound system i.e a sound system that plays mostly roots music with mcs/djs that rock the mic inna roots style. Jah Love sound system would b an example, come to think of it the one Brigadier Jerry one of if not the greatest mc/dj of all time has appeared both on stage and in the dancehall at SNWMF to great effect. Kabbaka Pyramid who you may label a dancehall artist has some of the best rootsy one drop tunes on all of the one drop mixes going around as well. Silly complaints about what looks like one of the most well balanced high quality festivals imaginable. I say kudos to the organizers for great work!

Perfectly well balanced line-up I would say. Plenty of great Roots,-classic and modern.......Silly complaints about what looks like one of the most well balanced high quality festivals imaginable. I say kudos to the organizers for great work!

It's interesting that the original poster has gotten such a fight here. Of course, there are as many definitions and destictions within any musical artform that people chose to create in written or verbal form. In this case, it seems, IrieMono hears Jamaican music as either "classic roots" or not. Any modern music which is not an approximation or sonic and lyrical equivilent of "classic roots", IrieMono for simplicity and brevity or other, simply refers to as "Dancehall".

Accepting the above categorization, it appears IrieMono is infact correct. Horace Andy, Clinton Fearon, John Holt, URoy and perhaps Zvuloon Dub System and Sly & Robbie are "classic roots", the other 21 announced artists are not "classic roots".

Nomo - yes, Anthony B is considered "dancehall" by most fans and journalist definitions.

QuoteHI*FI
It's interesting that the original poster has gotten such a fight here. Of course, there are as many definitions and destictions within any musical artform that people chose to create in written or verbal form. In this case, it seems, IrieMono hears Jamaican music as either "classic roots" or not. Any modern music which is not an approximation or sonic and lyrical equivilent of "classic roots", IrieMono for simplicity and brevity or other, simply refers to as "Dancehall".

Accepting the above categorization, it appears IrieMono is infact correct. Horace Andy, Clinton Fearon, John Holt, URoy and perhaps Zvuloon Dub System and Sly & Robbie are "classic roots", the other 21 announced artists are not "classic roots".

Nomo - yes, Anthony B is considered "dancehall" by most fans and journalist definitions.

splitting hairs i guess.. but most consider anthony B a culture artist who mainly rides one drop riddims. one drop in this day refers to riddims with the standard reggae skank.

No need to worry, more crucial "classic roots" by any definition will very likely be added to the festival like every other blessed year to join the already stellar line-up of roots, world music, and dancehall! I'm sure we could all list some great late adds from years past including the IrieMono requested Don Carlos. At any rate the festival is looking great so far with still more announcements to come so I don't buy the "last year was special and this year we get Shaggy" the festival is falling off take. No this year is special to and we get Uroy, John Holt, Kabbaka Pyramid, Morgan Heritage, Jah Dan Blackamore, Sly and Robbie, etc, etc!

@Rossta - Pretty much none. only Chuck Fenda, as Daniel said, could be considered dancehall, and he's more in the roots/conciousness vein (and he's really good live, so don't sleep). Josey Wales and U-Roy are pioneers of dancehall, but don't typify the modern style.

Too funny! Definitions change and styles evolve. What was dancehall in decades past is not what it has come to represent today, with the modern "one-drop" (I hate using that term to describe it when in the past it meant something completely different, and was one of the standard roots riddims that gave reggae it's "uniqueness" ) thrown in time and again. Curious as to what the younger folks call the digi artists of the 80's? IMO that was when dancehall became a genre of it's own, but many of those artists were roots guys prior to the 80's...

As HiGrade mentioned earlier (pretty sure that was a Bunny quote?), if you can dance to it....

See you guys in the festihall

"I'm gonna put on a iron shirt, and chase the devil out of earth" - Max Romeo

QuoteDubguy
What was dancehall in decades past is not what it has come to represent today, with the modern "one-drop" (I hate using that term to describe it when in the past it meant something completely different, and was one of the standard roots riddims that gave reggae it's "uniqueness" ) thrown in time and again.

Just got back from Jamaica...In the taxi to Negril the radio was blaring "Everybody Do The One-Drop" by QQ and I'm thinking, where's the skank? Guess I'm a lickle outta touch, nah?. ha ha

Meanwhile, in the US Traditional african music gives rise to a succession of music genres - Spirituals (circa 1800), which gives birth to the Blues and Gospel music (mid-1800s). Blues music, along with Marching Band and African Traditional music, gives birth to Jazz (circa 1910) which gives birth to R&B (circa 1940).

Back to JA, where in the mid-50s, Mento and American R&B give rise to Ska. Ska begats Rocksteady around 1960 and Reggae follows in the late-60s. Dub rises around 1970 and Dancehall music first rises in the mid-70s. Dancehall give rise to Ragga in the mid-80s.

Exactly, there is no dancehall on the lineup this year. Chuck fender is a stretch to call dancehall in the modern sense of the word, but a lot of younger artists sing roots music dancehall music, even American music ( generally to our dismay )

QuoteRhythmwize

Just got back from Jamaica...In the taxi to Negril the radio was blaring "Everybody Do The One-Drop" by QQ and I'm thinking, where's the skank? Guess I'm a lickle outta touch, nah?. ha ha

QuoteSCRoots
Chuck fender is a stretch to call dancehall in the modern sense of the word...

Nail hit squarely on the head with the reference to the "modern sense of the word".

Music never stands still, it's always evolving. What they danced to in the hall in 1979 is vastly different than the music played in the saem hall last week. Both audiences referred to what they were listening to as "Dancehall" music.

This is a great newer One Drop style mix by the Heatwave out of England that includes Tarrus's "Gimme Likkle One Drop" and many other excellent tunes! Yaadcore's Reggae Revival mix series is on a similiar vibe and also very high quality and can also be found on soundcloud! Great posts from everyone on this thread. Thanks for posting Tarrus "Gimme Likkle One Drop" vid Dubguy,-I love that one! And love the history breakdown Walter it makes me think of the origin and history of sound systems and dancehall in Jamaica and how sound systems were originally playing R n B records from the U.S and then Ska records after Ska was born along with Jamaican independance and then of course Rocksteady and Reggae, etc. Also cool how the original mic chatters/chanters like Uroy, King Stitt, Count Machuki, etc were rhyhming and chatting and freestyling over the records in the dancehall originally inspired by the U.S radio R n B Djs chatting, free styling, and jive talking over records on the radio(and then Kool Herc brought two turntables and a mic sound system culture from Jamaica to the South Bronx and hip hop was born). Because record players/radio's were not widely owned the sound systems big and small acted like a kind of radio station creating major excitement/ entertainment for the music loving public in the dancehalls and beyond. Duke Reid's original sound system began when he started dropping records outside his wife's grocery store and later the Treasure Isle liquor store to attract customers. So definitely sound system and dancehall has been there from the beginning and all styles roar in the dancehall and styles blend, riddims live forever and get voiced over and over by successive generations and when we get to hear and experience the highest quality of all the manifestations of Reggae at SNWMF we give thanks!